The Outfoxies

The Outfoxies
Arcade flyer
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Director(s) Masuya Ohishi
Producer(s) Akihiko Tokue
Shukuo Ishikawa
Designer(s) Masateru Umeda
Programmer(s) Yoshiyuki Honda
Composer(s) Masahiro Fukuzawa
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
  • JP: March 1995
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Cabinet Upright[1]
Arcade system Namco NB-2
Display Horizontal orientation, Raster[1]

The Outfoxies[lower-alpha 1] is a fighting game developed and published by Namco for Japanese arcades in 1995. It is a one-on-one fighting game set on large stages that change dynamically over the course of a battle. Players must use weapons to attack the other player while also avoiding the dangers and havoc brought on by various stage gimmicks. Although the game did not attract much interest at release, it has gained recognition in retrospect for the variety and dynamic elements in its game design, and for its outlandish and bizarre action themes. Critics have compared its style to action films and games developed by Goichi Suda. The Outfoxies is also recognized for pioneering gameplay elements seen in later arena fighting games, particularly the Super Smash Bros. series.

Gameplay

Two players battle on a plane

The Outfoxies is a fighting game which pits players into one-on-one arena combat.[2] Players chose from a collection of assassins to play as, with the goal of killing the other player's character.[3] The game features seven playable characters: John Smith, a mercenary; Betty Doe, a business woman; Prof. Ching, a scientist in a wheelchair; Bernard White, a biomedical engineer with a prosthetic hand; Danny and Demi, twin children; Dweeb, a chimpanzee; and Eve, a former film star turned criminal. Players must defeat each of the other assassins before confronting the game's final boss, Mr. and Mrs. Acme.[2] Each character has a special ability. Players can perform close-quarter attacks which do slight damage, but the larger damage is inflicted by using weapons scattered across the stage.[4] The weapons vary from conventional pistols, machine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and swords to more outlandish items such as hot soup or pie. Some crates and barrels can be tossed as well. If a player gets hit while they are holding a weapon, they will drop it.[2]

The stages are large and contain multiple platforms and obstacles the player can run and jump to navigate around.[2] The environments also employ thematic events and scenarios which can damage players and dynamically change the playing field over the course of the fight. For example, in an aquarium stage, the water tanks rupture during the fight and flood the stage. In the water are sharks which can hurt players.[2][5] In another stage set on a skyscraper, the players start at the top and scale down the building as it slowly explodes.[2] The other stages have gimmicks as well, such as planes and boats that shake and sway.[5]

Release

The Outfoxies was developed by Namco and released in Japanese arcades in March 1995.[6][7][8][lower-alpha 2] The game was designed by Masateru Umeda, who later on went to design Dancing Eyes (1996), a game similar to Qix (1981).[2] The Outfoxies did not garner much attention at release.[2] At the time, 3D games were beginning to overshadow 2D games in terms of popularity in the arcades. The few players still loyal to 2D fighting games were largely playing those developed by Capcom and SNK.[3] Original The Outfoxies arcade boards are now rare and collectible.[4]

Reception and legacy

Although it did not gather much attention at release, The Outfoxies has been well received in retrospective analysis.[2][5][4] In particular, the game has been noted for its eccentric and inordinate violence and action, similar to action films.[5][4][9] Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote that it feels like a "ridiculously over-the-top" action film.[2] Game*Spark wrote that it felt like a disaster film or a B-class action film.[4] Destructoid highlighted the game's bizarre cast of characters, and wrote that the game had more "weirdness and non-stop violence" than games developed by Goichi Suda which are typically associated with those elements.[3] Game*Spark agreed it had thematic elements consistent with those in Suda's games. Coincidentally, Suda is a fan of The Outfoxies and owns a copy which is displayed and playable at Grasshopper Manufacture's offices.[4] Although there are thematic similarities between it and his game Killer7 (2005), he claims he learned about The Outfoxies after developing Killer7, and any such similarities are just coincidence.[4] Both Game*Spark and Rock, Paper, Shotgun wrote that the game felt like a modern indie game.[4][5] More specifically, Game*Spark and Suda compared it to Hotline Miami (2012).[4]

The general game design was also praised. Rock, Paper, Shotgun wrote that they were constantly surprised by the variety of throwable items and the outlandish stage gimmicks.[5] Game*Spark believed that the game's diverse stage layouts and their ability to change dynamically over time were some of its best features.[4] Hardcore Gaming 101 agreed, writing that the stages were creative and cinematic. They believed The Outfoxies was ahead of its time and a "one of a kind" game, describing it as a cross between Rolling Thunder (1989) and Elevator Action Returns (1994).[2]

The Outfoxies is regarded as an early example of an arena fighting game, vastly predating and possibly inspiring the Super Smash Bros. series.[2][3][9] Destructoid listed it as number one on their list of Super Smash Bros. alternatives.[3] GamesRadar+ wrote that it "may very well be the greatest Smash Bros. knock-off of all time" despite its release four years before the first Super Smash Bros. game. They wrote that The Outfoxies had more extravagant violence while the Super Smash Bros. series has a more playful and innocent vibe.[9] Hardcore Gaming 101 wrote that it is different enough from Super Smash Bros. to be worth playing in its own right.[2] The developers behind Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II drew inspiration from The Outfoxies when developing the game's four player fighting mode.[10][11]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Japanese: Autofokkushīzu (アウトフォクシーズ)
  2. ↑ The game's title screen provides a copyright date of 1994, so some third party sources have incorrectly placed the game's release in that year.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Outfoxies, The". The International Arcade Museum. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Burns, Ed (November 22, 2012). "The Outfoxies". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Holmes, Jonathan (March 3, 2008). "Six Days to Smash Bros. Brawl: Top Five Smash Bros alternatives". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "【RETRO51】須田ゲーテイスト満載！？ 伝説のカルトゲーム『アウトフォクシーズ』で遊ぶ". Game*Spark (in Japanese). December 14, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Graham (October 29, 2016). "Have You Played… The Outfoxies?". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ The Outfoxies arcade flyer. Japan: Namco. 1995. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018.
  7. ↑ "アウトフォクシーズ". Gamest (in Japanese). Vol. 138. March 15, 1995.
  8. ↑ "アウトフォクシーズ". Gamest (in Japanese). Vol. 139. March 30, 1995.
  9. 1 2 3 Sullivan, Lucas (September 19, 2014). "15 Smash Bros. rip-offs that couldn't outdo Nintendo". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017.
  10. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (September 4, 2010). "New Star Wars Multiplayer Might Remind You Of Super Smash Bros". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. (November 3, 2010). "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015.
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